The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 14, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

With Court Cases and Elections Looming, the Wisconsin Assembly Scrambles to Keep its Gerrymandered Voting Districts

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate have a 66% veto-proof supermajority. Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly are two votes short of a supermajority.  Yet the Governor of Wisconsin is a Democrat.  How is that possible?   Gerrymandering.  And the majority of Wisconsin’s legislators want to keep it that way.

But storm clouds are gathering over what the Princeton Gerrymandering Project calls “some of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in the United States.” 

Power in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which accepted the legislature’s gerrymandered maps in 2022, shifted August 1st when liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz was seated.  Protasiewicz spoke openly about Wisconsin’s gerrymandering during the election, prompting Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to threaten impeachment unless she recuses herself from gerrymandering cases.  A case contesting the state’s legislative district maps was filed the day Protasiewicz took office, but impeachment would require a two-thirds vote of both houses, and it’s unlikely in the Assembly. 

So September 12th, Speaker Vos proposed a theoretically nonpartisan state bureau for creating redistricting maps, based on a system in Iowa, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The catch? The Wisconsin Assembly must approve the maps, and if there’s a deadlock, the Assembly would draw the maps after all.  Governor Tony Evers has already condemned the plan. 

We have links to local reporting, the new proposal, and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Associated Press – GOP lawmaker wins Wis. Senate seat, creating supermajority
Wisconsin Examiner – Special election moves Republicans closer to Assembly supermajority
PBS Wisconsin/Wisconsin Watch – Wisconsin’s Assembly maps are more skewed than ever — what happens in 2023?
Princeton Gerrymandering Project – Wisconsin
PBS Wisconsin/AP – Lawsuit asks new liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to toss Republican-drawn legislative district maps
PBS Wisconsin/ AP – Redistricting plaintiffs object to Republican attempt to boot Protasiewicz from cases
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Vos backs turning turning over drawing of election maps to nonpartisan agency in bid to bypass lawsuits

Groups Taking Action:
Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, Common Cause WI, Represent.Us WI, Fair Elections Project

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #FairMaps #StopGerrymandering #WisconsinPolitics

The post With Court Cases and Elections Looming, the Wisconsin Assembly Scrambles to Protect its Gerrymandered Voting Districts appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

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Today’s Links

Articles:
Charlotte News & Observer – NC’s highest court rules on gerrymandered legislature’s power, but the case isn’t over
Southern Environmental Law Center – North Carolina Supreme Court rules that racially gerrymandered legislature does not have unlimited authority to change NC’s Constitution
Ballotpedia – Voter ID in North Carolina

Groups Taking Action:
North Carolina NAACP,  Southern Environmental Law Center, Forward Justice

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Here’s a fascinating case from North Carolina that you’ll hear more about in the mainstream press in the next few days. The North Carolina Supreme Court has conditionally ruled that because the state’s legislature was elected with gerrymandered voting maps, state constitutional amendments enacted in 2018 may be invalid.

The case is being called “groundbreaking” and could have huge implications, but it’s not yet settled. Ballotpedia & the Charlotte News & Observer report that in 2018, voters passed a constitutional amendment to require photo ID to vote. Shortly after, the legislature passed SB 824 to codify it. The governor vetoed it, which the legislature then overrode, precipitating the lawsuits.

Voting rights advocates argued that 28 districts were knowingly racially gerrymandered, and that two-thirds of the districts needed to be redrawn to be in compliance with the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Under that argument, the legislature therefore did not have the legal authority to propose the amendment in the first place. The state supreme court agreed.

The state high court did not overturn the amendment, however. It returned the case to the lower court with guidance and questions, and asked for a more rigorous opinion that the state’s high court could further consider.

North Carolina NAACP’s Deborah Maxwell, said of the ruling, “Rigging elections by trampling on the rights of Black voters has consequences.”

See links to articles and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post ADM for August 23, 2022: North Carolina Supreme Court May Invalidate Constitutional Amendment Proposed by Gerrymandered Legislature appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

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Today’s Links
Articles:
City Beat/Ohio Capitol Journal:  Redistricting Commission: Leave Unconstitutional Maps for 2022 Election
Supreme Court of Ohio Clerk of Court – Filed May 09, 2022 – Case No. 2021-1198
ACLU Summary:   LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF OHIO, ET AL. V. OHIO REDISTRICTING COMMISSION (CONGRESSIONAL MAP
Groups Taking Action:
ACLU of Ohio, League of Women Voters OH, Campaign Legal Center, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Ohio Organizing Collaborative

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the voting booth in Ohio . . .

The Ohio Redistricting Commission has doubled down on implementing a rigged state legislative voting map.  Back in May as we reported, a federal court panel refused to hear an appeal, and returned it to the state to create a new map, not budging on moving the August 2nd state primary date.

Now with the clock ticking, the Ohio Capitol Journal reports that Gov. Mike DeWine & Secretary of State Frank LaRose are pushing for the gerrymandered February version of map because the Ohio Redistricting Commission is quote, “Out of options.”   Fair maps advocates have asked the courts to hold the Commission members in contempt, and to order new fair maps by the end of the week.

The February map was one of three maps rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court as being manipulated for partisan advantage.  In May, the federal court of appeals panel ordered that the map approved in February would be the default if the state could not draw a new map by May 28th.  Instead of doing the right thing and drawing a fair map, the Ohio Redistricting Commission submitted another gerrymandered one, which was again rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court.

It’s not clear whether the August 2nd primary could be invalidated due to the lack of time for candidates to conduct a campaign.    We’re going to need a bigger booth . . . 

More details on this saga are available at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  

Granny D said “Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we DO.”  

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post American Democracy Minute for July 20, 2022: Ohio Redistricting Commission Doubles Down on Rigged Voting Map Just Weeks Before Aug. 2 Primary appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Listen: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/americandemocracyminute/episodes/2022-05-30T06_15_33-07_00

Today’s Links:
Articles – InDepthNH, Concord Monitor, NH Bulletin
Fair Maps Advocacy Groups in NH – Open Democracy Action, ACLU NH, League of Women Voters NH

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

We’re back in New Hampshire, today, where on May 27, Republican Governor Chris Sununu vetoed two gerrymandered Congressional maps, which a defiant Republican legislature passed despite overwhelming public condemnation.

Gov. Sununu had earlier threatened to veto HB 52, having made several public remarks about vetoing a voting district map which, quote, “Doesn’t pass the smell test.” 

The NH Legislature passed the bill anyway along party lines, changing a competitive map which had remained largely the same for 140 years and had flipped three times over the last decade, to an uncompetitive map which packed Democrats into one district and Republicans into the other to guarantee a Republican Congressional seat.   It also gerrymandered the NH House, Senate & Executive Council maps which Sununu later signed, including a rigged NH Senate map which creates a veto-proof majority despite an evenly-divided state.

Alternative Congressional maps were drawn by the legislature, including SB 200, the last legislative attempt to pass a gerrymandered map.   The NH State Supreme Court issued a statement saying that if a map wasn’t agreed upon by the end of May, a special master would create a “least changed” map.  That map was released Friday, and oral arguments will be heard May 31 over the objections of NH House and Senate leadership.

Action by the public changed the debate in NH. What was a secret process 10 years ago faced unprecedented public scrutiny, engagement and pressure.

Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we DO.” 

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post American Democracy Minute for May 31, 2022: NH Governor Vetoes Two Gerrymandered Congressional Maps appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/americandemocracyminute/episodes/2022-05-09T08_26_15-07_00

May 10th is primary day in Nebraska and West Virginia, and state primaries are coming up May 17th in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania.  On May 24th, there are primaries in Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia, and a run-off in Texas.

So, why should you vote in the state primary?   

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping your government by and for the people.

On a nationwide average, only 40% of eligible voters actually do in a midterm primary, In the 2018 midterms, 50% of voters turned out, the highest in over a century.  That’s encouraging, but the other half not showing up has big consequences.

Recently, we’ve talked about gerrymandering manipulating state voting districts for partisan advantage.   When the districts are rigged, partisan primaries often cause candidates to appeal not to the middle of their party, but to the true believers of the party who show up in higher numbers.   Candidates make more extreme promises because if they make it past the primary, they are almost guaranteed to win.

One study by the Public Affairs Council found that primary VOTERS weren’t more extreme, but primary voters shared a “dissatisfaction with the current political establishment.”

Another important reason:  When extremists get elected or incumbents unseated, party leadership takes cues from the results to help shape the coming general election and the post-election policy.  You can send an important message by showing up on primary day.

Check out today’s links at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post American Democracy Minute for May 10, 2022: Why should you vote in your state’s primary? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.